Well, hiya everyone-- my name is Lillie. I live in San Antonio, Texas. In 2006-2007 I lost about 30 pounds with Spark, bringing me to a size 12 and looking great.... and then I finally got pregnant! A complicated pregnancy led me to gaining all I had lost plus another 10 pounds.

After pregnancy, I had a rough time getting my weight back in my control. Depression and hormones all played a huge part in that struggle. I fought hard to overcome those issues and I felt motivated to ...

Well, hiya everyone-- my name is Lillie. I live in San Antonio, Texas. In 2006-2007 I lost about 30 pounds with Spark, bringing me to a size 12 and looking great.... and then I finally got pregnant! A complicated pregnancy led me to gaining all I had lost plus another 10 pounds.

After pregnancy, I had a rough time getting my weight back in my control. Depression and hormones all played a huge part in that struggle. I fought hard to overcome those issues and I felt motivated to do something since I WAS at the biggest I have ever been. So, as of Sept 1st, 2010... I started my journey again.

This time, when I went to find my local team to lean on as I had the first time-- there was no one there! So, rather than giving up, I just re-vamped the team myself!

Please, feel free to message me about anything-- I am pretty laid back and love to chat!

Being that I have dropped weight using this system, here are my "12 steps" for newbies:

1. post and reply to messages on here-- giving support is as good for you as receiving it!! Doing this a couple times daily really helps to keep you involved!

2. join a team-- this keeps you involved and helps you meet other people like you!! You can find a team based on where you live, what your interests are, or even medical conditions! My team goes for team walks... it is super fun!

3. get a buddy using the "Buddy Finder" search. This will really help because now you have someone JUST LIKE YOU who is working as hard as you work!!! If you are the type of person who has a hard time sticking with your diets, get three buddies-- so, if one of them stumbles, you have two more to keep you going and get the stumbler back on track again!!

4. enter in all of your foods and cardio EVERYDAY-- don't forget, cardio can be anything from cleaning the house to walking the dog!! Cheating on your foods is only lying to yourself, be honest and see what kinds of foods you are eating NOW-- that way you can see what you need to do to change your habits! This is very important to you diet and new life! Don't forget, the first stage of Spark is to start to show you what your behaviors currently are.. not to outright change them-- that comes with time!

5. Use the SparkPoints page to your advantage! Challenge yourself everyday. Find one person every single day and try to TOP their points! It really works to keep you motivated. Go from 2987 on the ranking board to 2986!!!!

6. Learn to state things positively... instead of, "I can't have that...." say, "I am choosing to not have that...". Instead of, "I have to go to the gym today...." say, "I am going to the gym today...". Instead of "I screwed my whole diet up..." say, "Well, I fell off the horse for today, but tomorrow, I WILL be back on track....". In order to start to love your new lifestyle, you have to LIKE it, and doing things because you CHOOSE to, not because you have to, is the first step.

7. Enter in your recipes. Enter in the recipes you cook most often-- you will surprised to see their nutritional content! I have personally been floored at how unhealthy a couple of my meals were-- I thought they were SUPER healthy!

8. Forget about past failures. So, you did not have THIS site in the past-- you did not have THIS support... you have it now... the world is ahead of you and all you have to do is want it. Day by day you can start fresh and new. You have to see yourself putting that stuff behind you and stepping into a new life.

10. Enjoy your new lifestyle. One of the worst things you can do is MAKE yourself do something you hate. If you don't like spinach, don't force yourself to eat it! There are always hundreds of other choices! If you hate walking, find something, like jumping on a tramp, to do instead!

11. Look for every TINY accomplishment and allow yourself to make a big deal about it. You drank all your water? Good! Be proud and know that not everyone can do that-- I certainly have days when I am doing goo to get in 2 glasses!! Did you skip on the extra helping or not pull into the KFC? GREAT!!! Maybe you did an extra five minutes at the gym or parked in the last parking space at the grocery... AWESOME!!!!!!!! Post about it and remind everyone that little accomplishments are the building blocks of change!

12. Dislike exercise? Start small and work your way up. Find new activities to enjoy-- gardening, bowling, walking with friends, rollerblading, fencing... who knows? The sky is the limit and you should never be ashamed to try something new! (I tried Curves and I loved it!!!)

DONE!!! April 12, 2011-- 37:24 -- My fitness goal is to eventually be able to jog a full 5k.... I don't see myself as a runner by any means.. but I feel like that is an excellent measure of fitness health!

DONE!!!! Hey, my weight fluctuates, but for now, I weigh less! Another small goal is to weigh less than my husband. That is a sore spot for me and it would feel amazing to, for the first time ever, weigh less than he does!

Along those same lines-- I would like to be able to go to the gym with him and go climbing without feeling like a big cow going up the wall!

My Program:
So, how am I going to do it?

1. Use Spark to keep track of my intake

2. Use my elliptical machine, my recumbent bike and hopefully get back to running soon. My hip still protests to basically anything I do, so that is an unknown variable.

Personal Information:
My name is Lillie and I live in San Antonio, Texas. I am married and have one child.

Other Information:
I like to read-- mostly cheesy romance novels and other completely non-"literature-type" stuff-- but Harry Potter is an all-time fav for sure and I enjoy many genres.

As far as music-- I like a lot of different stuff... from Queen, to Peter, Paul and Mary... to My Chemical Romance and my favorite artist, Lady Gaga....